Supermodel Gigi Hadid has dropped out of Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai at the last minute.

A source told Page Six that Perry was initially cleared to perform in Shanghai, but Chinese officials changed their minds after learning of a 2015 incident in Taiwan where the singer wore a sunflower dress in support of the country.

"For every artist who wants to perform in China, officials comb through their social-media and press reports to see if they have done anything deemed to be offensive to the country", a source told Page Six.

Her outfit wound up causing widespread outrage because the sunflower had been adopted the year before by anti-China protesters. "Love my VS family, and will be with all my girls in spirit!"

Forget "teenage dream", because Katy Perry is likely living out her nightmare. She announced the news on Twitter Thursday as other models, including sister Bella Hadid jetted to Shanghai. "I have learned to be very careful of how my actions can come off or be portrayed, and I'm hopeful you'll accept my apology".

Speculation also has swirled over the participation of Russia's Julia Belyakova, Kate Grigorieva and Irina Sharipova, and Ukraine's Dasha Khlystun, after unconfirmed reports suggested they were denied Chinese visas.

A Victoria's Secret spokesman declined comment when asked by AFP whether Hadid pulled out on her own, was asked to by the company, or whether Chinese authorities applied any pressure.

Hadid posted a bilingual apology on China's Twitter-like Weibo on September 1, declaring her "respect and love for the people of China" and swearing she meant no harm, but even that drew flak.